Brew Hampshire2016

BREW HAMPSHIRE is an award-winning feature length documentary about the rise of craft beer in the Granite State. It showcases the varying shapes and sizes of breweries in New Hampshire, the fascinating personalities behind their creations, and what it is about New Hampshire that attracts the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2010 there were eighteen breweries in New Hampshire; at the end of 2015 there were forty-six. Craft beer has become a national phenomenon in the United States, but it has only recently caught on in New Hampshire, a state surrounded by world-renowned craft beer destinations. From a one-person-run nanobrewery, to a state of the art microbrewery, and everything in between, the brewers themselves tell us how and why things have changed in such a short amount of time. Follow a year in the life of the Able Ebenezer Brewing Company, from home brewing in a cabin in the woods to opening a commercial brewery in Merrimack, NH. Hear from thirteen breweries, along with retailers, distributors, tour guides, and enthusiasts about how they all play a role in the story of beer in New Hampshire. Learn what makes the beer community unique in the Granite State.

Member Reviews (4)

Inspiring but a little too repetitive in the message—how bold and individualistic these micro-brewers are. I wish we had more markets that permitted such innovation, but beyond admiring that, and the beautiful New England scenery, I just didn't see much reason why to continue watching.

Some nice touches - beautiful scenery, and some good mentions of the fellowship of beer lovers, the sense of community of this small but growing scene.

The soundtrack music was godawful--it sounded like rented industrial background drivel--why not hire some NH musicians to come up with soundtrack creations? Or a NH film composer? Some Bluegrass? Just some thoughts.

As mentioned elsewhere in these reviews--I couldn't help but notice that the NH beer culture...or maybe New Hampshire itself?--seems a little, um...monochromatic? It was ALL white people. I live in a good pocket of diversity in the Bronx, NYC. I'm just more comfortable seeing diversity in 2016. But maybe that's down the road for NH...or not? It's a "conservative" state (which generally implies: White).

I also couldn't help but notice that the "Associate Producers" featured the Able Ebenenezer guys, who prominently featured themselves in the documentary. So that, unfortunately, gave the movie a feeling of an infomercial, a promotion for those 2 guys, as cool as they are. It began and ended with--wait for it--Able Ebenezer. I'll just be a Scrooge here: HUMBUG to that. Mix it up, guys, if you re-edit this thing.

The fast-expanding, fascinating world of nano- and microbreweries deserves a better inside look, from an objective eye, preferably not from industry or 'State of New Hampshire' type backers.

This documentary is O.K., if you happen to fall into the niche audience that can appreciate it. Put it this way, I have been home brewing beer for over 20 years, *and* I live in the region, and even I found it hard to make it through this beer "documentary" which is little more than a 2 hour commercial for Able Ebeneezer brewery. Look, it's a great intro to the craft beer movement by looking at one regional example, but the same story could be told about The Bay Area, Pacific Northwest, Cincinnati, Austin or Denver.